There are a few cakes I love – carrot cake, banana cake, semolina cake, fudge cake, cheesecake, sponge cake… Well, I like all cakes let’s be honest, but I don’t like cakes that are dry, and my recipe for flourless lemon yoghurt cake is the opposite of dry.
I used to go to Singapore to visit relatives over Chinese New Year as a kid, and we’d always visit a grandaunt who lived in Ang Mo Kio. Even though she didn’t give us huge ang pows, I always looked forward to visiting her because she’d make this cake – light, fluffy, made of orange. I loved it so much I regret never asking her for the recipe, since she has now passed away.
So I went in search of a recipe that was somewhat similar to my late grand aunt’s and I stumbled upon this Flourless Lemon Cake by Yotam Ottolenghi, one of my food idols. I tried it and tweaked it and changed a few things to make it my own. Yoghurt was added as I wanted that extra moistness and more lemon to give it more sourness. I also removed the syrup as I didn’t think it needed it after adding in the yoghurt.
Making flourless lemon yoghurt cake is super simple and needs no for fancy equipment. If you haven’t got an electric mixer, just use a whisk. All you need is a spatula and a mixing bowl. It’s great served with a dollop of creme fraiche and a cup of freshly brewed English breakfast tea. I’d make this when I haven’t got any ideas and want to have something to serve guests when they pop over for tea. I have also served this with some whipped cream and lemon curd and it works an absolute treat. Enjoy this one xx.
Ingredients
Dry
- 135g almond meal
- 85g semolina flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 220g caster sugar
Wet
- 150g butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 2 lemons, juice and zest
- 2 tbsp greek yoghurt
Garnish
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Serves: 8
Method
- Prepare the dry ingredients in a separate bowl by mixing together almond meal, semolina and baking butter.
- In a separate bowl, beat sugar and butter together. Gradually add in one egg at a time, beating after each one is added to the mixture.
- Grate in the zest and juice the lemons into the mixture. Add in the greek yoghurt and continue to beat until fully incorporated.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and pour the mixture into a 20cm round lined cake pan. Bake at 150°C for 50-55 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When cool, dust over with some icing sugar.
Check out the links below for more of Diana Chan’s recipes, or read here interview here.
